One bad cell
by Shakespearenarutostyle
Summary: Just how much damage can one bad cell do to a family? SasuSaku Character Death Tragedy


Well...I am not dead, just busy with school and stuff.

Anyway, this is just something I thought of,

Enjoy

* * *

The honeymoon was great, it was spectacular really. Her new husband picked a magnificent location. Instead of going for the obvious and the cliché, he surprised her with a month's long voyage to the loveliest village she had ever seen, it was secluded spot, and they occupied a cozy beach house.

The sound of waves crashing against the slightly rocky shore nudged her to consciousness every morning, wrapped in her husband's strong arms, and the air was fresh, so clean and so unlike the city air that polluted their lungs.

He even cooked for her, one of his many hidden talents, he made her the most delicious seafood dishes, some she hadn't ever tasted.

And when he, or she, was feeling lazy, they'd get some takeout from town and hang around, laying on the couch, halfheartedly watching some soap opera or the next while sneaking fervent kisses in between pizza bites.

And then at night, he would carry her to the bedroom and make love to her to the sound of waves and the silvery light of a full moon.

Long story short, the honeymoon was great. She was now Mrs. Sakura Uchiha and it was great.

Cancer, was not.

They had just returned home, fresh from their vacation, and settled into a nice, little suburb house. She went back to her job as a nurse, and he, once more, took hold of his precious company.

It was three months later that the episodes started, at first she thought that it was anemia, the dizziness, the exhaustion, and even the occasional nosebleed.

Then he started to lose weight, rapidly, and suddenly, he couldn't hold his spoon up to his mouth without panting in utter fatigue.

His complexion grew paler, somewhat yellow, and his veins started showing through his skin, as well as his bones.

She couldn't deny the truth anymore, not when it stared straight at her. She had to drag him to a doctor.

The grey haired man took one look at her Sasuke and blanched, his expression fell before he even ordered the blood tests.

She held his hands when they went back for the results, and she squeezed tight, silently telling him that she would be there for him, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health.

"Mister Uchiha," The doctor started, his expression up to no good, "The results came back and, your blood tests exhibited a potential case of lymphoma, I recommend a bone marrow biopsy to be sure, the procedure should be done as quickly as possible, so we can start on a treatment plan immediately, the sooner, the better."

Sakura's heart felt like it shattered. She knew, from experience, that words like 'potential' , 'exhibited' were a load of bullshit, they were simply used by doctors, or nurses, to lure the patients into a false sense of security.

Sasuke barely flinched when the needle was inserted into his sanitized exposed hip, still Sakura squeezed his hand as if she were the one in pain.

The liquid extracted was immediately taken for testing, alcohol was applied onto the small puncture wound and a band-aid was placed there.

They didn't tell his parents, no one knew that, at the moment, Sasuke Uchiha was being tested for lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, or in layman's term, blood cancer.

In an odd moment, looking at his face across the dining table as he dug into a plate of his favorite pasta, she pictured him bald and nearly wailed then and there, instead, she smiled and asked him if he wanted an extra serving of pasta. Her heart broke some more when he mirrored her smile, as if he wasn't sick, as if he was just fine.

Chemotherapy was difficult, it was hard to see Sasuke, the man that seemed invincible to her, so weakened, so put down, with needles protruding from his arms, and a bag of poison dripping in it. It was hard for her to see him being poisoned in order to save his life.

Across from them was a kid, he couldn't be older than twelve, he was so frail and hairless, not even his eyebrows were there. When he caught her staring at him, he flashed her a smile. She couldn't help but smile back, the boy was obviously a survivor and he gave her…hope. She smiled at her husband and pecked his lips.

"There's this procedure," She started that day, once again, across the dinner table, "We can freeze fertilized eggs, I was wondering if you'd be willing to try it."

He paused, fork midway to his lips and blinked at her. "Freeze an-, what are you talking about?"

She flushed, a deep red staining her cheeks. "Forget it, it's not important."

He chewed slowly, as if mulling his words, then reached over and patted her hand. "You'll get through this, Sakura, I promise you."

She couldn't help but notice that he hadn't included himself in that statement, when he was the one that was sick.

Still, on Thursday afternoon, he slipped a brochure of an IVF clinic onto her lap, she looked up at him from her textbook and blinked. He simply shrugged and then nodded at the brochure.

It was an odd feeling, 'banking' several of her embryos when her husband was standing right beside her. Her hand went to her stomach, and she felt empty, almost as if her womb recognized its loss and that the embryos that were 'frozen' were meant for it.

Chemo wasn't working. The malignant cells were aggressive and resistant, the stronger the poison was thrown upon them, the stronger they became. It was destroying rather than healing Sasuke's body and it had to be stopped.

One evening, during dinner planned by the Uchihas, her parents were there, Mikoto Uchiha commented that Sasuke shouldn't overwork himself because he looked sick and if he was sick indeed.

Sasuke focused his gaze on the tabletop, studying the embroidered fabric, thinking about the question, then simply raised his head and stated, "I am dying."

Sakura gasped, not out of surprise of course, but in anguish. It was the first time that he had acknowledged the fact, that he had eliminated all chances of survival.

_No. _She thought as Mikoto demanded explanations, as Itachi's wine glass shattered to the ground and as Fugaku Uchiha's hand flew to his chest. _Don't give up on me. You can't. _

His hair comb had clumps of hair in it, it was thrown haphazardly into the waste bin, and somehow, as she stared at Sasuke's luscious black hair, her eyes filled with tears, her hands went to her sides, and she gripped herself, willing the sobs to remain at bay, and failing miserably, she covered her mouth and slid to the tiled, cool floor. Because, for the first time, she acknowledged the fact that she was losing her Sasuke, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Word got out to the media, and reporters flocked their house, the company and even their parents' houses.

They all wanted to know, if the Sasuke Uchiha, that built his own company, from scratch and independently from his father's influence or that of his brother's in the span of five years, was truly dying from something as menial as cancer. It was simply not possible.

Sasuke stayed at home, he wouldn't leave, he had his baseball cap on, and he stared at the TV, randomly flipping through the channels.

The doctor said that they hadn't much more time, the couple nodded, understandingly.

Sakura hoisted her hair into a bun, securing it with an elastic band, she filled the bucket with water and set about mopping the vomit off the floor. She wasn't disgusted, she wasn't repulsed. Her shoulders slumped. She was just sad.

She washed her hands and exited the bathroom, she patted towards the king sized bed and collapsed on it, spooning her husband. Her arms went around him, much like he used to do when he was well.

It became a routine, she would come home, clean whatever needed to be cleaned, do whatever there was to do, then she would lie down with her love and stroke his sides, listening to his shallow breaths, some whimpers and the occasional adorable snort.

Until one day, she couldn't hear the shallow breaths, the whimpers and the occasional adorable snort, until one day she wasn't lulled to sleep by the soft rise and fall of Sasuke's chest.

It seemed like she pictured this moment for a thousand times, she would hold him, kiss him and tell him that she loved him, he'd wipe her tears and tell her that he would wait for her and she would smile and they would laugh at the old times.

He didn't die alone, in their bed, in her fantasies, he didn't die alone, she repeated as she held his horribly still body. He didn't die alone while she was nursing other patients at work.

_Sasuke Uchiha, _

_1986 – 2013, _

_Loving son, brother, friend_

_And husband._

_May he rest in peace._

She quit her job, the day after the funeral. Her boss tried to persuade her not to, the other nurses advised her to take time off. _As long as you need. _They advised. But she couldn't, she simply could not nurse another soul to health when the one she cared the most about died.

Her mother called her nonstop months after, Itachi would drop by every once in a while to check on her. And the company lawyer would call every Monday, reminding her that she was the sole heir to Sasuke's company.

One day, she had enough. She called the lawyer Monday morning before he called her, and she had him draw up the necessary papers. On Tuesday morning, she drove to where Itachi worked, in the family business. She gave him the papers and smiled at him, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"It only needs your signature. Congrats, you are the new owner of Taka." And just like that, she handed her husband's firm away, a fortune in its own right.

A week later, she was found dead, it appeared that she was sleeping at first glance. She was in the bathtub, her head lying on the ceramic, and her eyes closed in what appeared to be utter bliss, and in her hand, was a brochure of a renowned IVF clinic. The water was still warm, signaling that she hadn't been there for long.

Her mother, the one that found her, cried and wailed while the cops and coroner flocked the house.

They said that she died of broken heart syndrome also known Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, because she couldn't live without her husband, she died of a birth defect she didn't even know she had.

_Uchiha Sakura, _

_1988 – 2013_

_A loving daughter, nurse, _

_And wife._

_May she rest in peace._

What one bad cell does to a family.

* * *

To all of you, who fight for their lives, every single day, when healthy people take it for granted, I salute you


End file.
